On March 9, 2017, Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development, and Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, announced the new Global Talents Stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, opening June 12, 2017.
The new stream will permit eligible employers use a new streamlined labour-market impact assessment (LMIA) program that will allow for two-week processing (10 business days), and process their employee’s work permit applications also within 10 business days. By decreasing processing times that currently run upwards of 6 months, this initiative aims to help innovative companies acquire highly skilled talent more quickly. Ultimately, the program hopes to drive economic growth in the Canadian market.
In addition to the two-week processing time for certain work permits, this initiative will further include a dedicated service for companies interested in making significant investments in the Canadian Markets. Registered employers will therefore need to commit to creating jobs for Canadians and transferring lucrative knowledge to Canadian workers as well. In this way, the Global Talent Stream hopes to foster overall economic growth by creating good middle-class jobs and ensuring their availability.
In establishing who will be eligible for this program, the Global Talent List of eligible high-demand occupations is currently being compiled. In order to tailor the list according to the needs of the Canadian market, these decisions are being made in collaboration with labour market experts and stakeholders. The list is to become public prior to the June 12 launch date, and is expected to favour Canada’s tech sector.
The Global Talent Stream is part of a broader Global Skills Strategy to help Canadian start-ups thrive on the local and eventually global market. Through these various measures, the Global Skills Strategy aims to use the Global Talents Steam as a means of making Canada more attractive for potentially lucrative companies by facilitating access to the high-skilled talent needed for economic growth.
To further drive this growth, the government is expected to start allowing skilled foreign nationals working in Canada short-term (for instance, 30 days or less in a 12-month period) to work without a work permit. This is expected to also apply for brief academic stays.
Further details regarding the initiative and how the application process will work are still being finalized.